Profile
20 . Male
Xibae (pronounced she-bay) looks very intimidating because of his intense unblinking stare. He doesn't talk to many people and tends to stay quiet. He can be seen in forests rustling through bushes and climbing trees at night, his bright eyes the only thing you see, and the sound of wind chimes the only thing you hear. When you try and move closer he crouches in a fighting stance - wary - before hissing and disappearing into the dense forest.
When you get to know him:
- His stares may be intense but really he's just a bit of an airhead and can't read the mood.
- Very bad social skills so he usually travels alone. When someone does travel with him, he has no idea how to interact or talk with them at all, so he doesn't even really try.
- This leads to lots of silences that feel awkward to his companions, but he doesn't even notice and continues does his own thing.
- WILL become passionate in regards to his water magic, and cares a lot about his aquarium backpack despite it seeming like more trouble than it's worth to carry around.
- his passion manifests with staring and getting in real close, which can seem offputting. However, those who know him well can recognise the excitement in his body language as he basically vibrates with sparkles in his eyes.
- He likes travelling and walking around beautiful forests to observe nature. He can get quite excited about it! It's peaceful when he is by himself as long as he has his fish with him.
- Those who enjoy him company tend to refer to him as having a very cute demeanour, which is puzzling observers.
"I like how the fish depend on me to look after them"
- Please draw him with light brown pants unless stated otherwise
- I draw him with black pants and hat to make him look more cryptid-like
- The top of the aqurium bag flips open when the wheel is turned
- He has a leg slit that goes all the way up to his hip, but only on his left leg!
Xibae's Past
As a black cat, Xibae was naturally shunned in his village. He was a closed-off boy who didn't participate much in school and he wasn't passionate about his parent's glass shop. He was passionate about magic, however. His parents supported him but told him it needed to be a secret. They knew that he was lonely in general, and tried to help him by giving him an aquarium. Xibae seems quite diligent in looking after the fish and tended to only make glass for aquariums, filling his room with them. He started to work on a magic project involving an aquarium. He made a container he could carry on his back (only possible due to how strong Hargrowl naturally are). He had almost perfected his project; an aquarium that when an object is put into the water, it turns into a fish! And when the fish is taken out, it turns back into an object. It functioned as a bag basically. His parent's thought this was a cool idea, but did not see it's purpose. But oh well, he was only 17, he can do whatever makes him happy.
However, right before he finished, his magic backfired. He woke up in a blur and felt something very different when he sat up. His tail...was now a fishtail??!! He couldn't undo it and went to his parents. They were horrified, knowing the village would never accept him if they knew he was using magic to this degree. They told him he had to go on a journey, to get stronger to hopefully undo his now-fishtail. It was heartbreaking to them, knowing if he didn't succeed he couldn't come back for more than a secret visit. They kept him at home and prepared a good luck charm - the windchimes on his hat - and sent him on his way to travel the lands. He took his aquarium backpack to take as many large items as he could and turned them into fish, and off he went.
Xibae grew up in the small village of the Hargrowl - a species of anthropomorphic cat people who range in what traits they possess. All Hargrowl have cat tails and their signature ears with the symbol for the sun on them, and most have fur covering their bodies. However, some have paw-like hands and cat-like limbs, noses and eyes, while others have human-like limbs and facial features. This is because while their village is very closed off, humans have visited for centuries and fallen in love. Leading to Hargrowl/human hybrids. Hargrowl are biologically capable of cross-breeding with species very different from their own and hypothetically would gain their traits as well. However, not many species other than humans have found the Higow.
The Hargrowl are very physically strong creatures despite their short-to-average stature. They can lift very heavy objects and can throw heavy punches, making them ideal for brawling and physically intensive work like construction. In the far past when humans initially came to the village they introduced magic to the Hargrowls. Magic became integrated into their society and was a very useful tool, but some cats became drunk on power and wrecked chaos and destruction both in the village and out. It became taboo to use magic, shunning the families that had a strong affinity for magic until it started to die out. Most of these families tended to have black cat and human lineage, so despite magic affinity being rarer, black cats are shunned to this day.
Tidbits about Xibae
- Xibae's parents have a glass-making shop that has been passed down in their family
- Xibae is wearing traditional Hargrowl travelling clothes given to cats going on long journeys. The coats, pants and hats are usually styled similarly with their families colours
- The glass wind chimes hanging off his hat were made by his parents to wish him good luck on his travels. They have his family crest on it. Hargrowl will have different chimes depending on their family speciality (such as metal or wood).
- His crest in a swirl to represent magic affinity, and a heart to represent that family will always be there for each other. This crest was made generations ago by the Ragvans family to represent they will always have each other, even if the rest of the village shuns them for being black cats with magic affinity.
- Most cats in the village think he is a fully black cat, but he actually has a lot of white fur covered by his clothes.
Childhood friend
Chrye also came from the same village, but has more cat-like physical traits. When Xibae's parents sent him away from the village, Chrye also set off after him. He caught up to Xibae within a few months and they usually travel together. He is a happy and kind cat who wants to make everyone around him happy.
Chrye is very physcially strong and is a brawler. He is a black cat but activitly avoids using magic. Is it possibly he has an affinity for magic as well...?
